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Notes

11

INDIAN PAINTING

hen you go to the market or to a museum you will find many paintings, wall hangings or work done on terracotta. Do you know that these paintings have

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their origin in ouir ancient past. They depict the life and customs followed by the people of those times. They also show how the kings and queens dressed or how the courtiers sat in the royal assembly. Literacy records which had a direct bearing on the art of painting show that from very early times painting both secular and religious were considered an important form of artistic expression and was practised. This need for expression is a very basic requirement for human survival and it has taken various forms since prehistoric times. Painting is one such form with which you may have been acquainted in some way or the other. Indian painting is the result of the synthesis of various traditions and its development is an ongoing process. However while adapting to new styles, Indian painting has maintained its distinct character. “Modern Indian painting in thus a reflection of the intermingling of a rich traditional inheritance with modern trends and ideas”.

OBJECTIVES

After reading this lesson you will be able to:

trace the origin of painting from the prehistoric times; describe the development of painting during the medieval period; recognise the contribution of Mughal rulers to painting in India; trace the rise of distinct schools of painting like the Rajasthani and the Pahari schools;
assess the development of painting in local centres like Kangra, Kulu, and Basoli;

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appreciate the contribution of Raja Ravi V a rma to Indian painting; assess the role played by Rabindranath Tagore and Abanindranath Tagore in the emergence of the Bengal School of Art;

appreciate the role specialty of the progressive artists group of Francis Newton
Souza;

Notes

recognise the contribution of folk art forms like the Mithila painting, Kalamkari painting, W a rli painting and Kalighat painting in adding numerous new dimensions in the field of painting.

11.1 ANCIENT PERIOD: ORIGIN

Painting as an art form has flourished in India from very early times as is evident from the remains that have been discovered in the caves, and the literary sources. The history of art and painting in India begins with the pre-historic rock painting at Bhimbetka caves (M.P.) where we have drawings and paintings of animals. The cave paintings of Narsinghgarh (Maharashtra) show skins of spotted deer left drying. Thousands of years ago, paintings and drawings had already appeared on the seals of Harappan civilization.

Both Hindu and Buddhist literature refer to paintings of various types and techniques for example, Lepyacitras, lekhacitras and Dhulitcitras. The first was the representation of folklore, the second one was line drawing and painting on textile while the third one was painting on the floor.

The Buddhist textVinayapitaka (4th–3rd century) describes the existence of painted figures in many royal buildings. The play Mudrarakshasa (5th CenturyA.D.) mentions numerous paintings or Patas. The 6th CenturyAD text on aesthetics-Kamasutra by Vatsyayana has mentioned painting amongst 64 kinds of arts and says that it was based on scientific principles. The Vishnudharmottara purana (7th centuryA.D.) has a section on painting called Chitrasutra which describes the six organs of painting like variety of form, proportion, lustre and portryal of colour etc. Thus, archaeology and literature testify to the flourishing of painting in India from pre-historic times. The best specimens of Gupta paintings are the ones atAjanta. Their subject was animals and birds, trees, flowers, human figures and stories from the Jataka.

Mural paintings are done on walls and rock surfaces like roofs and sides. Cave no. 9 depicts the Buddhist monks going towards a stupa. In cave no. 10 Jataka stories are depicted. But the best paintings were done in the 5th – 6th centuriesAD during the Gupta age. The murals chiefly depict religious scenes from the life of the Buddha and the Buddhist Jataka stories but we also have secular scene. Here we see the depiction of all aspects of Indian life. We see princes in their palaces, ladies in their chambers, coolies with loads

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over their shoulders, beggars, peasants and ascetics, together with all the many beasts, birds and flowers of India.

Materials used in the paintings

Different materials were used in different types of paintings. Mention of chitra shalas (art gallery) and Shilpasashtra (technical treatises on art) have been made in literary sources. However, the principal colours used were red ochre (dhaturaga), vivid red (kum kum or sindura), yellow ochre (haritala), indigo (blue) lapis lazuli blue, lampblack (kajjala), chalk white (Khadi Mitti) terra verte (geru mati) and green.All these colours were locally available except lapis lazuli which came from Pakistan. Mixed colours e.g. grey were used on rare occasions. Use of colours were decided by the theme and local atmosphere.

Notes

Remains of Buddhist paintings have also been found at the Buddhist caves at Bagh in the North and at various Deccan and southern sites of sixth and ninth centuries. Though the theme of these paintings is religious but in their inner meanings and spirit, nothing could be more secular, courtly and sophisticated. Though only a small part remains of these paintings but they depict a crowded world of Gods and goddesses semi divine being like kinnars and apsaras, a rich and varied flora and fauna, gaiety, love, grace and charm. Example can be seen in cave 3 at Badami (Karnataka), at temples of Kanchipuram, at Jain caves of Sittanavasal (Tamil Nadu) and the Kailasa and Jain caves at Ellora (eighth and ninth centuries). Many other South Indian temples such as Brihadeshwara temple atTanjavur are decorated with wall paintings on themes from epics and mythology. If Bagh,Ajanta and Badami represent the classical tradition of the North and Deccan at its best, Sittana Vassal, Kanchipuram, Malayadipatti andTirunalaipuram show the extent of its penetration in the south. The paintings of Sittanavasal (abode of the Jaina Siddhas) are connected with jaina themes while the other three are Saiva orVaishnava in theme and inspiration. Despite having a very traditionally secular design and theme the paintings of these times started showing the impact of medieval influences i.e. flat and abstract surfaces on the one hand and linear and somewhat angular designs on the other.

11.2 ART IN MEDIEVAL INDIA

During the period of Delhi Sultanate, mural painting has been reported from the royal palaces and royal bed-chambers and mosques. These chiefly depict flowers, leaves and plants. During the time of Iltutmish (1210-36) we have references of paintings. During the timeofAlauddinKhalji(1296-1316)wehavemuralpainting, miniaturepainting(ofillustrated manuscripts) and paintings on cloths. During the Sultanate period, we notice the Persian andArabic influences on Indian painting. We have references of the coming of Persian and Arabic illustrated manuscripts from Iran and theArab world for the Muslim elites.

During this period, we have paintings from other regional states. The decorative paintings of the palace of the Gwalior king Man Singh Tomar impressed both Babur andAkbar.

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During 14th – 15th centuriesA.D. miniature painting emerged as a powerful movement in Gujarat and Rajasthan and spread to Central, North and Eastern India because of the patronage of rich Jain merchants. Mandu in M.P., Jaunpur in Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bengal in Eastern India were other great centres of manuscripts illustrated with paintings.

In Eastern India, in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, during the Pala kingdom in the 9th – 10th centuryA.D., a new kind of painting developed called the miniature painting.The miniature, as the name suggests, were small works which were made on perishable materials. In this category, Buddhist, Jain and Hindu manuscripts were illustrated, on palm leaves. They resemble theAjanta style, but on a miniature scale. These were made on the request of the merchants, who donated them to the temples and monasteries.

Notes

From the thirteenth century onwards, the Turkish Sultans of northern India brought with them important features of Persian court culture. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries illustratedmanuscriptsofPersianinfluencewereproducedatMalwa, Bengal, Delhi, Jaunpur, Gujarat and the Deccan. The interaction of Indian painters with Persian traditions resulted in the synthesis of the two styles evident in the works of the sixteenth century. During the early sultanate period, significant contribution to the art of painting was made by the Jain community ofWestern India. Illustrated manuscripts of Jain scriptures were presented to temple libraries. These manuscripts depicted the lives and deeds of the Tirthankars. The art of textual illustration got a new look under the Mughals.Akbar and his successors brought revolutionary changes to painting and sensual illustrations. From this period book illumination or individual miniatures replaced wall painting as the most vital form of art. EmperorAkbar patronised artists from Kashmir and Gujarat; Humayun brought two Persian painters to his court. For the first time painters’ names were recorded in inscriptions. Some great painters of this period wereAbd-us-Samad Dasawanth and Basawan. Beautiful illustrations are found on the pages of Baburnama andAkbarnama. Within a few years an integrated and dynamic style resulted from the synthesis of Persian and Indian style and the independent style of Mughal painting was developed. Between 1562 and 1577 a series of nearly 1400 cloth paintings were produced representing the new style and were placed in the imperial studio.Akbar also encouraged the art of making portraits.

The art of painting reached its climax during the period of Jahangir who himself was a great painter and connoisseur of art.Artists began to use vibrant colours such as peacock blue and red and were able to give three dimensional effects to paintings. Mansur, Bishan Das and Manohar were the most gifted painters of Jahangir’s time. Mansur had made an outstanding portrait of the artistAbul Hasan and specialised in paintings of birds and animals. Though Shah Jahan was more interested in architectural splendours, his eldest son Dara Shikoh patronised painting like his gradfather. He preferred depicting natural elements like plants and animals in his painting. However withdrawal of royal patronage to painting underAurangzeb led to the dispersal of artists to different places in the country. This helped in the development of the art of painting in Rajasthan and the Punjab hills giving rise to distinct schools of paintings, for example, Rajasthani and Pahari Schools.

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These works were painted on a small surface and were called miniature painting. They painted themes drawn from epics, myths and legends. Other themes were Barahmasa (seasons) and Raga mala (melodies). Miniature painting was also developed at local centres like Kangra, Kulu, Basoli, Guler, Chamba, Garhwal, Bilaspur, and Jammu.

The rise of the Bhakti movement in India in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries also inspired illustrative texts on the themes ofVaishnava devotional cults. In the pre-Mughal era mural paintings on the walls of temples gained prominence in the northern part of India.

Notes

11.3 ART IN THE MODERN PERIOD

In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries paintings comprised semi westernised local styles which were patronised by British residents and visitors. Themes were generally drawn from Indian social life, popular festivals, and Mughal monuments. These reflected the improvised Mughal traditions. Shaikh Zia-ud-Din’s bird studies for Lady Impey and the portrait paintings of GhulamAli Khan forWilliam Fraser and Colonel Skinner are the examples of some excellent paintings of this period.

In the later nineteenth century art schools on the European model were established in major Indian cities like Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. Oil paintings of Raja RaviVarma of Travancore depicting mythological and social themes became highly popular at this time.

Rabindranath Tagore, Abanindranath Tagore, E.B. Havell and Ananda Kehtish Coomaraswamy played an important role in the emergence of the Bengal school ofArt. The Bengal School had a great flowering at Shantiniketan where RabindranathTagore set up the Kala Bhavan. Talented artists like Nandalal Bose, Binod Behari Mukherjee and Ramkinkar Baij rendered training to aspiring artists. Nandalal often derived inspiration from Indian folk art and also from Japanese painting while Binod Behari Mukerjee was deeply interested in oriental traditions. Jamini Roy, another great painter of this period, drewinspirationfromQrissa’spat apaintingandKalighatpaintingofBengal.AmritaShergil, a great painter received education in Paris and Budapest. Considered a prodigy from a Sikh father and Hungarian mother, she painted on Indian themes in bright colours specially Indian women and peasants. Though she died very young, she left behind a rich legacy of Indian paintings.

Gradually some deeper changes took place in the thinking of the English educated urban middle class which began to be reflected in the expressions of the artists. Increasing awareness about British rule, ideals of nationalism and the desire for a national identity led to creations which were distinct from earlier art traditions.

In 1943, during the period of the second world war Calcutta painters led by Paritosh Sen, Niroda Majumdar and Pradosh Dasgupta formed a group who depicted the condition of the people of India through new visual language, and novel techniques.

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Another significant development was the formation of the ProgressiveArtists Group in Bombay in 1948 under Francis Newton Souza. The group also included S .H. Raza, M.F. Hussain, K.M. Ara, S.K. Bakre and H.A. Gode. This group broke away from Bengal School ofArt and represented the modern forceful art of independent India.

In the 1970s artists began to critically survey their environment. Daily encounters with poverty and corruption, the political morass of the country, the explosive communal tension, and other urban issues became the themes or subject matter of their works.

Notes

The Madras School ofArt under Debi Prasad Roy Chowdhury and K.C.S Paniker emerged as an important art centre in post independence period and influenced a new generation of modern artists.

Some of the artists who made their mark as modern Indian artists are Tyeb Mehta, Satish Gujral, Krishan Khanna, Manjit Bawa, K.G. Subramaniyan Ram Kumari,Anjolie Ela Menon,Akbar Padamsee, Jatin Das, Jehangir Sabavala andA. Ramachandran.

Two government institutions have been set up to promote art, music etc in India. The National Gallery of ModernArt has the largest collection of modern art under one roof. The second one is the Lalit KalaAkademi which recognises and patronizes artists in all fields.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 11.1

Answer the following questions: 1. Which is the famous excavated site in Madhya Pradesh?
_______________________________________________________________
2. What are the three types of painting found in Brahmanical and Buddhist literature in ancient India?

_______________________________________________________________
3. Where are the dhulitchitras paintings normally done?
_______________________________________________________________
4. What was the theme of theAjanta cave painting?
_______________________________________________________________
5. Give the names of two sites where Buddhist painting of sixth & ninth centuries were found?

_______________________________________________________________

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6. What are miniature painting?
_______________________________________________________________
7. Who withdew the royal patronage to painters in the medieval period?
_______________________________________________________________
8. What were the themes in the paintings of the urban English educated artists?
_______________________________________________________________
9. Name the two government institutions set up to promote art, music in India.
_______________________________________________________________
10. Which state is famous for Patta painting?

Notes

_______________________________________________________________
11. Name the institution set up by Rabindra Nath Tagore at Shantiniketan?
_______________________________________________________________
12. Why was Raja Ravi Varma ofTravancore famous?
_______________________________________________________________

11.4 DECORATIVE ART

The artistic expression of the Indian people is not limited to painting on canvas or paper only. Decorative painting on walls of homes even in rural areas is a common sight. Rangoli or decorative designs on floor are made for auspicious occasions and pujas whose stylised designs have been passed on from one generation to the other. The designs are called

rangoli in the North, alpana in Bengal, aipan in Uttaranchal, rangavalli in Karnataka,

Kollam in Tamilnadu and mandana in Madhya Pradesh. Usually rice powder is used for these paintings but coloured powder or flower petals are also used to make them more colourful.

Adorning walls of houses and huts is also an old tradition. The following are some of the examples of folk art of this kind.

11.5 MITHILA PAINTING

Mithila painting also known as Madhubani folk art is the traditional art of the Mithila region of Bihar. They are produced by village women who make three dimensional images using vegetable colour with few earthen colours and finished in black lines on cow dung treated paper. These pictures tell tales especially about Sita’s exile, Ram-Laxman’s forest life, or

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depict the images of Lakshmi, Ganesha, Hanuman and others from Hindu mythology. Apart from these women also paint celestial subjects like sun and moon. Tulsi, the holy plant also is to be found in these paintings. They also show court scenes, wedding and social happenings. Drawings in Madhubani pictures are very conceptual. First, the painter thinks and then she “draws her thought”. No pretence is there to describe the figures accurately. Visually they are images that speak in lines and colours and are drawn for some rituals or festivals on household and village walls to mark the seasonal festivals or special events of the life cycle. Intricate flora, animal and birds motifs can also be found along with geometrical designs to fill up the gap. In some cases it is a special practice for mothers to make these art items in advance for their daughters as a marriage gift. These paintings also convey advice on ways to lead a good married life. There is also a social variation in subjects and use of colours. One can identify the community to which the painting belongs from the colours that are used in them. Paintings made by the upper, more affluent classes are colourful while those made by the lower caste people use red and black line work. But the technique of painting is safely and zealously guarded by the women of the village to be passed on by the mother to the daughter.

Notes

Nowadays Madhubani art is being used as decorative gift items, greeting cards and has become a source of income for local women folk.

11.6 KALAMKARI PAINTING

The literal meaning of Kalamkari is a painting done by kalam (pen). This art got enriched as it came down from one generation to another. These paintings are made inAndhra Pradesh. It is hand painted as well as block printing with vegetable dyes applied on cloth. Vegetable dyes are used for colour in the Kalam Kari work.Asmall place Sri-Kalahasti is the best known centre of Kalamkari art. This work is also found at Masaulipatnam in Andhra Pradesh. This art is mainly related to decorating temple interiors with painted cloth panels, which was developed in the fifteenth century under the patronage of Vijaynagar rulers. Subjects are adopted from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and Hindu religious mythology. This art form is a continuous legacy from father to son.After deciding the subject of the painting, scène after scene is painted. Every scene is surrounded by floral decorative patterns. These paintings are made on cloth. They are very durable and flexible in size and made according to theme. Figures of deities have a very rich border embellishments and were created for the temples. Owing to Muslim rulers in Golconda, the Masulipatnam kalamkari was widely influenced by Persian motifs and designs. The outlines and main features are done using hand carved blocks. The finer details are later done using the pen. This art was started on garments, bed covers and curtains. The artists use a bamboo or date palm stick pointed at one end with a bundle of fine hair attached to the other end to serve as brush or pen.

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  • Luminously Between Eternities the Contemporary Miniature As Evolution

    Luminously Between Eternities the Contemporary Miniature As Evolution

    Luminously between Eternities The Contemporary Miniature as Evolution the icon’s frontal view, his graceful attire adorned with To understand this complex tradition of Indian an elegant turban, the shimmering golden cows and painting, many more stories are to be told, much more the aura of the painting transfers us into the original remains to be understood and we are perhaps only shrine at Nathdwara. In such paintings, one seldom beginning to see a whole new world in itself. The sees names of the artists. Perhaps it was because of tradition is a continuous Pravaah, or ‘flow’ of ideas in the artists’ choice to remain anonymous as this an ocean which seems to keep evolving. But Lallulal, in painting the lord was as much sacred as adorning or his Raj-niti concludes it better. worshipping him. कवि बासी गृहकूप कौ कथा अपार समंद तैसीयै कछु कहत हौं मति है जैसी मंद The poet dwells in his well-like house, yet his tale is as vast as the sea; I have said what little I could, within the limits of my intellect7. Much like the master artists of the past, many contemporary artists use elements, compositions and ideas from this ocean of Indian painting which, as I mentioned before, one needs to look and re-look to understand it. Murad Khan Mumtaz has argued how there was a distinct break in the long continuity of the painting tradition in India when the direct british rule was established in 19th century north India. Regarding the ‘contemporary miniature painting’ tradition, much more remains to be studied, this exhibition attempts to explore how the contemporary artists get inspired from the past, weaving their own narratives swimming swiftly in this enormous ocean of Indian painting.
  • Painting: a Survey

    Painting: a Survey

    Painting: A Survey Painting, citra kalā in Hindi and anciently called varṇana , evolved in India through a fusion of various cultures and traditions over centuries, if not millennia. The earliest paintings in India are rock paintings of prehistoric times, found all over India, especially in places like the Paleolithic Bhimbetka rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh whose almost 10,000-year-old rock paintings display the concerns of early man — food, survival in a difficult environment and struggle in subduing animals. The colours used are mostly of mineral origin and have survived because the paintings were deep inside the caves or on inner walls. Bhimbetka was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2003. Various scenes on a few of the rock shelters of Bhimbetka (courtesy: Wikimedia). 1 KTPI Class XII – Painting Bhimbetka drawings and paintings can be classified under different periods: Upper Paleolithic : in green and dark red, of huge figures of animals such as bison, tigers and rhinoceroses. Mesolithic : smaller figures, with linear decorations on the body of both animals and human figures and of hunting scenes and communal dancing. Chalcolithic : drawings of the hunting cave dwellers, exchanging goods with food-producing communities. Early historic : figures painted mainly in red, white and yellow of horse riders and of religious symbols, figures of yakṣas (supernatural beings), and sky chariots. Medieval : linear and more schematic paintings that show a certain degeneration and crudeness of style in colours prepared by combining manganese, hematite and wooden coal. Classical Texts Early literary compositions of India such as Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata , Kālidāsa’s Śakuntalā and Daṇḍin’s Daśakumārcarita make many references to art galleries or citraśālās.
  • Modernisms in India

    Modernisms in India

    Modernisms in India Modernisms in India Supriya Chaudhuri The Oxford Handbook of Modernisms Edited by Peter Brooker, Andrzej Gąsiorek, Deborah Longworth, and Andrew Thacker Print Publication Date: Dec 2010 Subject: Literature, Literary Studies - 20th Century Onwards, Literary Studies - Postcolonial Literature Online Publication Date: Sep 2012 DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199545445.013.0053 Abstract and Keywords This article examines the history of modernism in India. It suggests that though the dis­ tinctions between modernity, modernization, and modernism are particularly complicated in the case of India, they remain crucial to a historical understanding of the ‘modern’ in all its senses. The article argues that the characteristic feature of Indian modernism in In­ dia is that it is manifestly social and historical rather than a hypostasis of the new as in the West. It contends that modernisms in India are deeply implicated in the construction of a secular national identity at home in the world, and in this respect answer a historical need to fashion a style for the modern as it is locally experienced. Keywords: modernism, India, modernization, modernity, national identity, hypostasis THE distinctions between modernity, modernization, and modernism are particularly com­ plicated in the case of India, but remain crucial to a historical understanding of the ‘mod­ ern’ in all its senses. Modernity, as a social and intellectual project, and modernization, as its means, are associated with the influence in India of Europe and of Enlightenment ra­ tionality from the eighteenth century onwards. Modernism, as an aesthetic, is far more limited in period and scope. Nevertheless, just as recent cultural criticism has proposed the existence of ‘alternative modernities’1 not native to the West, so too our attention has been drawn to ‘alternative modernisms’, or ‘modernisms at large’.2 The question of peri­ odicity, as of location, is complicated by the historical fact that modernism as an aesthetic was simultaneously restricted and elitist, and international and democratic.
  • A Study of Patta Painting in Orissa

    A Study of Patta Painting in Orissa

    JASO 29/3 (1998): 197-211 FOLK ART AT THE CROSSROADS OF TRADITION AND MODERNITY: A STUDY OF PATTA PAINTING IN ORISSA MAMA TA TRIPA THY P ATTA painting, or patta chitra, is one of the typical regional arts of the coastal state of Orissa in eastern India. Like any other form of painting, irrespective of time and space, it possesses its own set of meanings and purposes. In particular, it expresses some of the religious and mythological aspects of Oriya culture, focus­ ing on the Hindu epics in general, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, and the Jagannath cult in particular. Patta painting is of linear design, vegetable pigments being applied to a spe­ ciaJIy prepared cloth using a brush. Although overtly religious, it does not simpJy express a set of religious ideas or values and is much more than a merely visual art to be looked at and be appreciated: it expresses a whole set of beliefs and practices relating to life and death held by the artisans themselves. Traditionally it was prac­ tised only by the Chitrakara caste as their caste occupation. However, although it has retained its basic characteristics, it has been affected by the advent of science and technology as well as other aspects of modernization in the twentieth century. This has had an impact in terms of technology, the materials used, commercializa­ tion, and the use of the craft. To some extent, therefore, patta painting is at the 198 Mamata Tripathy crossroads of tradition and modernity, a situation that heralds a uncertain future for the craft.
  • 8 Pioneers of Contemporary Indian

    8 Pioneers of Contemporary Indian

    Pioneers of Contemporary Indian Art MODULE - 3 Introduction Contemporary Indian Art 8 Notes PIONEERS OF CONTEMPORARY INDIAN ART At the beginning of 19th century under the influence of the British Raj, Indian art displayed a general decline. The craft and techniques of fresco and miniature paintings which were unique in the history of art, were nearly lost. Miniatures were ousted by European oil painting. Towards the turn of the century, traditional Indian painting faded out and it was the time for Indian artists to look at their heritage with positive approach and advance from the earlier European Colonial Art. Raja Ravi Varma of Kerala was famous for his paintings of mythological subjects and portraiture. His works showed western influence in his oil paintings. On the other hand, Abanindranath Tagore tried to recreate a new style in painting. Nandalal Bose, Benode Behari, and few others followed this newly awakened sense of nationalism. Thus emerged the Bengal School in the first half of 20th cen- tury. For subjects, they found their inspiration from Indian classics and mythology. They rejected the western realism and preferred to use idealism of Indian Art. Jamini Roy gave a modern form to folk art and Rabindranath Tagore intro- duced expression in his painting. These artists experimented with traditional water colour techniques using Indian and Chinese styles and also sought inspiration from miniatures, frescoes and folk art. Later, artists like Amrita Shergil drew on both Western and Indian traditions. Her contribution in the field of art retains her unique position as the first lady of the modern Indian art.